Half an inch of sidewalk is not a dangerous condition, Mississippi court holds
Half an inch of sidewalk is not a dangerous condition, Mississippi court holds
2026-09-15 · Mississippi · Courts
A property owners association was not liable when a member tripped on a half-inch lip between two sidewalk slabs leaving the community pool. Rodriguez v. Diamondhead Country Club and Property Owners Association, Inc., No. 2024-CA-00238-COA, decided March 25, 2025, became final when certiorari was denied on September 25, 2025.1
The fall
Jane Rodriguez, a Diamondhead POA member, was leaving the community pool when she caught a vertical offset of roughly half an inch between two concrete sidewalk slabs. She broke her shoulder and lost a tooth.
She sued the association on two theories. The first was ordinary premises liability — failure to maintain a reasonably safe sidewalk. The second was negligence per se, resting on § 1110.4.14 of the 2018 International Building Code, which requires pools to sit on an “accessible route,” and on the Mississippi Accessible and Usable Buildings and Facilities Code.
The circuit court granted the association summary judgment. The Court of Appeals affirmed unanimously, Carlton, P.J., writing.
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